Mass Effect Undefinable

**A/N: Ok, so I played through the Omega DLC, and I just had to write this scene. So lemme get this out of the way:**

**SPOILER ALERTS AHOY**

**Personally, I think Nyreen's character could have been so much more, and I'm actually a little disappointed in Bioware for they way they handled her. So this is me giving her the scene I think she deserves.**

**Undefinable**

"Nyreen here," the female turian says, looking out across the approach to Afterlife. "Something's not right." She's not entirely sure what, but something about the situation in front of her feels…off.

"Cerberus is still on my station," Aria's voice says into her ear. "Of course something's not right."

Nyreen rolls her eyes, even though Aria can't see it. "Not what I was talking about. I'm checking this out. Going radio silent." She quickly shuts off her radio before Aria or Commander Shepard can try to talk her out of it. With that done, she looks over at one of her soldiers. "Hold this position. If Shepard and Aria come, let them through, but _do not_ advance on your own."

"Understood, ma'am," her sergeant says. The others simply nod. With that, Nyreen sets off down a side passage.

To someone new to the station, it might appear that Nyreen is running away from Afterlife. Then again, most people don't know Omega like she does. Those months spent with Aria were some of the best of her life, despite how their relationship ended. Actually, no, _especially_ how their relationship ended. That allowed her to discover who she truly was as a person. She discovered her code, what she fights for.

Learning most of Aria's secret passages was a nice little bonus, too. For example, most people wouldn't know about this ladder—she kicks a panel on the wall, revealing said ladder—that leads to the rafters above the courtyard in front of Afterlife.

Once she gets to the top, she starts running toward the courtyard.

A horrible screech cries out above the din of battle.

No. Spirits, please no.

She redoubles her efforts, sprinting to her destination. A horrible sight greets her when she reaches the ledge.

Some civilians are trapped outside of Afterlife. A pack of those…things is slowly approaching them. For a brief moment, Nyreen freezes.

_Nyreen is fleeing from this monster that had suddenly ambushed her and her partner, Servius. They started running, but Servius was starting to lag behind. A horrible, gut-wrenching scream makes her stop and turn around. One of those monstrosities was on top of Servius, raking its clawed hand across his chest. Suddenly it thrusts its other hand through Servius' chest._

_Nyreen recovers from the shock of seeing Servius in danger and promptly shoots the thing off of him. When it finally dies, she rushes over to Servius' still form lying on the ground. Surprisingly, he still has a pulse, but it's faint._

_After quickly making sure the area is clear of more of those things, she begins giving him first aid. At first, it seems like he's getting better. Soon, though, she begins to notice something: his skin is turning a sickly gray color, and blue splotches are forming all over his body. _

_Slowly, she begins to realize what's happening. He's becoming one of them. Suddenly, his eyes shoot open. His eyes are still his, and they're filled with unabashed terror. He tries opening his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. So instead, he tries speaking with his eyes. _

_He knows what's happening. He's afraid._

_Slowly, the light in his eyes, that spark that makes him who he is, dies away. In its place, an unnatural blue glow. It's not Servius looking back at her now. _

_It's one of them._

_Weakly, it tries to attack her, so she steps back out of its reach. There's nothing left she can do. Nyreen draws her pistol._

Bang! Bang!

Gunfire from the civilians pulls Nyreen out of the memory. Looking down, one of the civilians has already been tackled. Without any hesitation, Nyreen makes her way down to the courtyard.

Just as another civilian is attacked, she starts firing into the back of the nearest Adjutant. One of its sacks breaks open, spewing forth that disgusting liquid, but the creature simply turns around to face her, seeming undeterred. She keeps firing, but more screeches alert her to the presence of more Adjutants behind her. Looking back, she sees three more of them approaching her.

Six to one against Adjutants. Those…are not very good odds. Looking around, she sees a dead Cerberus Guardian on the ground in front of her.

His belt of grenades catches her eye.

…

What other option does she have? If she doesn't act, the remaining civilians will die. Even worse, they'll become Adjutants.

She won't let that happen. Not after Servius.

Her mind made up, she quickly grabs the grenade belt. Tapping the activation button on the first one, she chucks the belt forward a bit. Right as she does, she hears a door open off to her side. Can't worry about that now. She needs to contain the blast from these grenades.

Nyreen runs to stand over the belt and erects a biotic bubble around herself and the Adjutants. Nothing's getting out.

In what will be her last moments, Nyreen looks over to where the door had opened. She sees Aria and Commander Shepard running towards her.

Nyreen makes eye contact with the queen of Omega, and she sees something in those eyes that she's never seen before: fear. With the sound of the grenade's timer drowning out the rest of the world, Nyreen keeps looking at that beautiful purple face.

Nyreen smiles, realizing that Aria had never truly stopped caring.

The beeping turns into a continuous whine.

There's a flash.


End file.

Mass Effect, Drama, Tragedy